An Ending, a Beginning, a Winner and More.....

For the past ten weeks, La Tea Dah, of Gracious Hospitality, has hosted a wonderful blog-a-thon of all things tea. Through this wonderful venue I have met new friends, garnered new ideas and tea time recipes, learned of tea time traditions, and delighted in all things tea. Sadly, as all good things must do, the blog-a-thon has drawn to a close.This brought to mind a tea time passage that was written by Rose Wilder Lane, where there was an ending of something wonderful and a new beginning of something to look forward to. During the summer of her seventh year, Rose, daughter of Almanzo and Laura Ingalls Wilder, graphically recalled her memories of her families preparations for the promise of a new life and a new home in Mansfield, Missouri.Rose Wilder (photo source)

The wonderful thing they must leave behind was their close knit family, Ma and Pa Ingalls, sisters Mary, Carrie, and Grace. As sad as they were to leave De Smet, South Dakota, they were looking forward to a new life in the "Land of the Big Red Apple" in the Ozark Mountains. Having saved enough for a new start in the new state, early on a July Monday in 1894, Almanzo, Laura, and Rose said their farewells to their family.(photo source)

After making all the proper travel preparations, the night before they were to leave, they went to Ma and Pa Ingalls to say good-by. Dressed in their Sunday best, they set off on the dusty walk just as the sun was setting. Rose wrote: "Grandma said, when she saw us, "You aren't going to travel in your good clothes are you!" And Mama answered softly, "No Ma, we put them on because we were asked to supper and this is our last evening."

"You needn't have dressed up for that, child," Grandma said. But she had put a white tablecloth on the table, and baked a dried-apple pie, and when she saw me watching her pour out the tea, she told Mama it wouldn't hurt me for once, and gave me a grown-up cup of cambric tea. I had always wanted one, but when I tasted the hot milky water then, I felt as if I were drinking tears. We all sat there eating around the white tablecloth in the kitchen and it was and ending, we would never be in Grandma's house anymore."

We put on our best tea table for the blog-a-thon and now must bid good-by to this event, cherish all it sweet memories, and find something to look forward to. I hope to give you just that, something to look forward to. I so enjoyed La Tea Dah's blog-a-thon that I am borrowing her idea for one of my own and you are all invited to attend!

"I REMEMBER LAURA"
BLOG-A-THON(Blog-a-thon Button Above, just cut and paste)

BLOG-A-THON ANNOUNCEMENT:

Over the four weeks of June, every Monday will be "I Remember Laura" day of the Laura Ingalls Wilder blog-a-thon. Each week has a theme in which a passage from one of Laura's books will be featured. You can share and participate by posting on that theme on your blog and linking up to my main post using Mr. Linky. I have created the above button for you to cut and paste to your blog. I would greatly appreciate your help in spreading the word of this sure to be fun event!

ART SWAP ANNOUNCEMENT:(Art Swap Button Above, just cut and paste)

There will be an art swap held in conjunction with the event. Each of the four weeks will have an art swap theme. I have gathered a starter kit together, with complete instructions, for 20 participants for the art swap. The kit provides some basic pieces to begin your art creations with and you can add your own embellishments and artistic flair to create your one-of-a-kind art piece for the swap. I will mail the kits to the first twenty persons who sign up. You will have the entire month of June to complete the projects. They must be in the mail back to me no later than June 30, 2008 and I must receive them no later than Monday, July 7, 2008. Please enclose $5.00 for return postage on the art swap package. Each person will receive four pieces of art in return from four different artists. You will want to check in each Monday to read that weeks main post and passage to get some ideas for your creations.

NOTE: IF YOU WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ART SWAP, PLEASE BE SPECIFIC IN THE COMMENTS OR EMAIL ME AS I ONLY HAVE LIMITED SPACES. THANKS!

SPECIAL INTERVIEW ANNOUNCEMENT:

AND, last but certainly not least, a special interview with a relative of Laura Ingalls Wilder will be featured. I am so excited to share this event with you all, but even more so for you to meet a warm, wonderful, and inspiring woman who carries on the pioneer spirit in modern day times. She has been gracious enough to share not only some little known facts and photos but her wonderful testimony as well. You won't want to miss this!

GIVE AWAY ANNOUNCEMENT:

At the end of the blog-a-thon will be a give away to be held on June 30, 2008!

BLOG-A-THON LINE UP:

The "I Remember Laura"
BLOG-A-THON LINE UP

JUNE 2 - 8(photo source)
Week one will be featuring quilts or quilting. Laura and her sister Mary were started in the needle arts at very young ages and were required to work on quilt squares, working them into the nine patch pattern. Using Mr. Linky you can share your quilts or quilt related items and tell your quilt stories. Do you or someone in your family quilt? Perhaps your quilt is not hand made but special none-the-less, share it with us!

This weeks art swap will feature a quilted creation. The art kit will have a vintage nine patch quilt square and a picture of Laura printed on muslin. You will use these pieces as a base, adding your own embellishments for your quilted collage creation.

JUNE 9 - 15(photo source)
Week two will be featuring buttons. Laura, who disliked sewing once held a job making button holes to earn money to send her sister Mary to a college for the blind. You can link up and share your button collections, button identification and care, as well as button stories. Did you have a favorite dress with special buttons? Did you play in your grandmothers button box? Tell us about your button tales!

This weeks art swap theme will feature creating three unique button card tags. The kit will include three blank tags, some buttons, three small pictures of Laura, and some pages from one of the Little House books. By adding your own embellishments, you will create three shipping size tags for the swap. You will receive one tag from another artist in return, I will keep one, and I will send one which has been bound into a little tag book to our special guest. Remember to stop by for this weeks book passage to help jump start you ideas!

JUNE 16 - 22(photo source)

Week three will be sharing family recipes that have been handed down from generation to generation. Laura told of the varied meals, special sweets, and holiday fare that Pa provided and Ma so lovingly prepared in all the locations where they lived. Almanzo even shared in good fresh farm food fare in Farmer Boy. Did your grandmother make the best fresh apple cake? Did your aunt make melt in your mouth molasses crinkle cookies? Mine did! Perhaps you will begin the tradition of handing down a current family favorite, share it! This week you can link up to share your family recipes and tell us a story of where and how they were served and why this particular recipe means so much to you.

The art kit for this week will include a large recipe card, a back ground piece of card stock, a photo of Laura, and some vintage cookbook pages. With these and your extra creative touches, you will assemble a one of a kind recipe card featuring one of your favorite recipes. These will all be scanned and made available on my blog for all to snag and enjoy! Be sure and see this weeks book passage for some memorable food moments in the lives of the Ingalls family.

JUNE 23 -29
(photo source)
Week four will be about sharing books and music. Laura had a great love of books and music. Books were a rare treat in Laura's young life and she devoured them when she could get them. Music was a part of her every day life be it Ma humming as she worked, Pa's fiddle playing in the evenings, the family singing together, or Mary's organ music. What songs and books are special to you. Do you have a favorite memory that you associate with a book or song? Link up this week and share it. Also, tell why you love the Little House books and any memories you have associated with them.

This last week of the art swap your kit will include a little book made from vintage sheet music and some images of Laura. You will create a cover for your book and fill it with your own creative touches and embellishments. Each page should include a quote from favorite books or a line from favorite songs, and identification of the book or song title. Be sure to visit this weeks book passage for some of Laura's musical memories.

JUNE 30A sketch of the plate which survived the fire in Laura and Almanzo's home. The plate was found among Rose Wilder Lane's possessions after her death. It is now in the Mansfield, MO museum. (photo source)

This will wind up the blog-a-thon with one last link up featuring your cherished family heirlooms. Ma Ingalls most prized possession was her little china shepherdess which rested upon a hand carved bracket made by Pa Ingalls as a gift. Show us something or more than one thing that has been handed down to you that you cherish and plan to hand down to the next generation. Tell us the story of how it came to be in your family, why it is special, and who you plan to gift it to.

This is the day the art swap items are to be completed and mailed and I should receive them no later than Monday, July 7, 2008.

This is the post where you will sign up for a special give away. More will be announced on this later. The winner of the give away will be announced on Monday, July 7, 2008.
I hope to see you all there!

In conjunction with the Gracious Hospital-i-Tea Blog-a-Thon, I held a give away for the tea themed items above. La Tea Dah (LaDonna) was excluded as she got to pick a hostess gift from the two sets, Cori was entered twice, so subtracting these two we had 22 sign up.
And according the Custom Random Number Generator, the winner is......Laura of Decor to Adore!

CONGRATULATIONS LAURA!

Laura, please email my your address and I will get your tea party in the mail to you!

RUN over to Laura's to sign up for a FABULOUS Cath Kidston Summer time kick off give away! Trust me, you will want to get in on this! I won her last give away, which I will post on this week! Thanks so much Laura for the chance at a bit of summer fun!

Blessings,
Miss Sandy